


The Lost Story

by niallsecretluvr



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, but either way its kind of a smaller school but not teeny tiny, i dont really know if i have them in high school or college, who cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-18 06:37:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9372548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallsecretluvr/pseuds/niallsecretluvr
Summary: Michael was in the library looking for a topic for his essay, but stumbled across a story. Not just any story, a story written about him.





	1. Chapter 1

“What are you going to do for your essay?” Calum asked as Michael walked with him to the library.

“I don’t know, Cal. I’ll just wing it like I always do.” Michael shrugged, swiping his card to get into the building.

Calum sighed, shaking his head at his best friend. “You can’t just do that this time Michael. This essay counts for over 30 percent of our grade. As your best friend, I’m not letting you fail.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out.” Michael said, entering the computer lab and sitting down at a computer.

“Whatever.” Calum mumbled before heading off towards the research section.

“Alright computer. What do you have for me this time?” Michael wiggled the mouse to the computer and was greeted with a Word document. Michael’s eyes went wide when he looked at the word count.

‘Maybe I could use this paper for my essay.’ Michael thought, but quickly dismissed the idea when he realized it was a story.

_His green eyes shimmered in the moonlight and his blond hair complimented his beautiful pale skin. He looked heavenly and Leo had the immediate urge to kiss his full red lips._

_Michael looked at Leo as they sat underneath the tree in the center of the commons and he seemed to be waiting for Leo to make a move._

_Just as Leo was about to close the space between the two, Michael’s name was being called by Calum._

_Michael rolled his eyes at Leo and stood to leave with his friend, leaving Leo contemplating his life underneath the dying tree._

“Holy shit.” Michael whispered looking around to see if anyone had left the computer.

After confirming that he was the only one around, he turned back to the screen. Michael became suddenly curious and exited out of the current document, but not before saving it.

Michael opened the USB files. “Maybe there’s something here to tell me whose this is because there is definitely not a Leo in this school.”

Michael continued to search through the files, but found nothing that could lead to the owner.

“Hey Mikey.” Calum said from behind Michael, causing him to jump at the sound.

“Oh, hey Cal.” Michael quickly exited out of the files and took the USB from the computer.

“I didn’t know you had one of those.” Calum said, looking at the black drive in Michael’s hand.

“Um, yeah. I actually just bought it from the bookstore.” Michael fibbed. He trusted Calum, no doubt about that, but Michael felt like he should keep this to himself, at least for the time being.

Calum eyed his skeptically, but shrugged anyway. “So you’re actually starting to care bout your grades more, huh?”

“Yeah, totally. This paper is a big part of our grade, so I might as well do my best on it.” Michael said, surprised by how practical he sounded.

“That’s one of the most logical things you’ve said all year, Mike.” Calum beamed at Michael as they grabbed their things and left the library.

~~~  
When Michael got home, he started up his laptop and pulled in the USB. He found a document labeled Once in a Lifetime and opened it. It was the same document he had found on the library computer.

He pulled the covers over his body and placed the laptop in a comfortable position before starting to read.

_There wasn’t much out there for Leo. That much he knew. He didn’t have any close friends and stayed inside almost all the time. But he knew he had his stories and they always made him feel better._

_He was headed to school that morning, just like any other day when it happened. The bus had left without him._

_That wasn’t really the problem, though. Leo had been late to the bus before, but today it was raining and he didn’t have anyone who could give him a ride, so he trudged through the puddles and the pouring rain._

_When he finally got to the school grounds, he felt like a soaked rat. Luckily he had some dry gym clothes that he could change into but those were on the other side of the school._

_Leo figured he had enough time to run over there, change, and mike it to his first period class. He quickly sprinted down the halls, making multiple twists and turns until he reached the locker rooms._

_He quietly slipped inside and silently prayed that no one would be in there, but the prayer must not have been answered because he heard an all-too-familiar voice: Michael Clifford._

Michael quickly shut his laptop and tried to slow down his rapid breathing. There was someone out there who had written a story about him. There was no way that this was fiction. But who the hell was this Leo guy?

Michael had to figure this out. He needed to know who this “Leo” was. It was going to kill him if he didn’t find out. But who would know? He couldn’t ask Calum because then Calum would lecture him about taking the USB in the first place. And Michael didn’t need to be lectured; he wanted answers.

Before Michael could think about it anymore, his mother was calling him downstairs for supper. Michael set his laptop down and headed into the dining room, still thinking about what he just read.


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay Mike but did you see Ashton’s new painting on display?” Calum asked, sitting cross-legged on Michael’s bed with his English book open but long forgotten.

“No?” Michael answered, wondering why Calum asked that when he already knew the answer.

“Well you should. It’s absolutely beautiful. He did an entire painting in blue hues. The details are so amazing; it’s like he used a magnifying glass to paint them. They’re so specific and precise and just beautiful.” Calum sighed, falling back on Michael’s bed and staring at the ceiling.

“What about Nina? What’s she doing?” Michael asked, taking Calum by surprise at the mention of his girlfriend.

“Oh, uh, she’s probably working on schoolwork. You know, busy doing things.” Calum shrugged, his fond smile from before falling off from face.

“Dude, when was the last time you two went on a date?” Michael asked, abandoning his English book as well.

“I don’t know. Maybe some time in January?”

“Cal-” Michael leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. “-I don’t want to dictate your relationship, but do you still love her?”

Calum backed away from Michael, as if he had been hit. “How could you ask me that when you don’t even have a significant other?!”

“Cal, I was just wonder-”

“Save it! Just stay out of it!” Calum yelled, quickly grabbing his things and rushing out the door.

Michael sat back in his chair and sighed. He didn’t want to hurt Calum, but honestly, Calum spent more time talking about Ashton than his own girlfriend. Sure, Michael didn’t have a significant other, but he could tell that something was off between Calum and Nina.

Michael sighed again, not wanting to over think it. He reached over and grabbed his abandoned English book before trying to focus on the topic of confusing verbals.

~~  
It had been an entire week since Calum stormed out of Michael’s room and Michael was miserable. Calum hadn’t talked to him or even answered his texts. Michael had tried to confront him in the halls, but Calum always managed to get away.

Not everything was terrible, though. With Calum ignoring him, Michael had a lot more time to read the story on the USB drive. The main character, Leo, had tried to make a move with Michael, but apparently Michael had turned him away.

Michael didn’t remember doing this to him, so he hoped that that event was purely fictional. He still wanted to know who the author was because Michael had a lot of question for them. Especially, whether or not he was the Michael character.

Today Michael was relaxing and scrolling through his phone when it started to vibrate and Calum’s name appeared on the screen.

“Hello?” Michael quickly answered the phone, having missed his best friend.

“I did it Mike.” Calum sounded heartbroken, but Michael swore he heard a bit of relief.

“Did what?”

“I broke if off with Nina.” Calum sighed through the phone.

“Oh, Cal—”

“No Mike. You were right. I thought about it a lot this past week. I didn’t really like Nina like I thought I did. She’s great and we’re still going to be friends, but it wasn’t fair to   
either of us to continue the relationship.” Calum took a deep breath.

“Wow. I’m proud of you Cal. That takes some serious balls.”

Calum laughed. “Yeah, ya think?” He paused as if looked for the right words. “But I’m glad I did it, ya know? Like I’m really relaxed right now. I mean, I still have that essay to do, but at least I don’t have to worry about a relationship. It’s kinda nice. I understand why you’ve never dated before.”

“Hey!” Michael protested, crossing his arms across his chest, even though Calum couldn’t see him.

Calum’s bright laugh sounded through the phone. “You know I’m only messing with you.”

“Yeah I know.” Michael smiled. He had missed Calum more than he realized.

“So since you had an entire week away from me, what have you been up to?” Calum’s question was light, but Michael found himself starting to freak out.

“Uh, I’ve been reading.” Michael tried to make it sound nonchalant, but his best friend knew him better than that.

“You? Reading? Bullshit.” Michael could picture Calum shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 

“I’m serious.” Michael felt a little angry that Calum didn’t believe him.

“Alright, alright. Fine. What were you reading then?” Calum asked.

“A story.” Michael said, not really wanted to open the can of worms that went with the detailed answer.

“Well no shit Mike, but what story?”

“Promise you won’t get mad?” Michael dropped his voice to one just above a whisper.

“Dude, are you okay?” Calum became suddenly serious at Michael’s change of tone.

“Remember when we went to the library, like month ago?”

“Yeah, we were there to get some material for our research essay.”

“Well,” Michael took a deep breath. “I, uh, found a story that day.”

“What are you talking about Mike?”

“That USB drive? The black one I had? It’s not mine. Actually, I don’t know whose it is.”

“Michael! You can’t just take someone’s things!” Calum shouted through the phone loud enough that Michael had to move it away from his ear.

“I know that Cal, but—”

“Then why did you do it?” Calum’s voice was accusatory and scared Michael a bit.

“I don’t know, okay? But the story had our names in it.” Michael started to ramble. “And I was curious. And it’s really well written and I want to know the ending. And I know it’s wrong, but—”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Back up. The story has our names in it?” Calum asked, astonished.

“Yeah.”

“Like our actual names? Like Calum and Michael?”

“Well those are our names.” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Well, if it has our names then obviously the main character is the person who wrote it, right?” Calum asked with a very valid point.

“That’s what I thought, but the main character’s name is Leo. I looked through the database and there’s no Leo.” Michael pulled his laptop onto his lap and started it up.

“Maybe it’s someone who’s not registered?” Calum sounded like he was raking his brain, trying to think of a solution.

“If they’re not registered, they can’t get into the library.” Michael pulled the document up on his laptop.

“Well damn Mike. What are we going to do?” Calum audibly sighed on the other side of the phone.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait this out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to update soon.  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Tumblr: [cliffbut](http://cliffbut.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I am so so so so so sorry for not updating this is over 4 months. I've been super busy though. I graduated high school last month, and I had to do a _lot_ of scholarships in the months before that. And creativity loves to evade me, so I just haven't felt creative enough to write, which is so damn frustrating. I also just got back from a 2 week road trip with my 3 best friends. We went to the states along the West Coast, which was a lot of fun.
> 
> But without further adieu, Chapter 3.

“Ashton is such a great person, Mike. He’s so super sweet and he tells such amazing stories. It felt like I was actually there when they happened. And he paid for my coffee. He’s such a gentleman.” Calum rambled on.

“So when’s the honeymoon?” Michael teased, causing Calum to look up with a deep blush evident on his cheeks.

“We’re not even dating.” Calum protested, looking at his phone as it lit up.

“Uh huh.” Michael rolled his eyes as Calum typed out a reply.

“Anyway,” Calum closed his phone and set it aside. “How’s the hunt for ‘Leo’ going?”

“Well, I haven’t found anything else yet.” Michael shrugged and opened the story’s word document on his laptop.

“Any clues from the story?” Calum moved onto Michael’s bed so he could see the screen better.

“Not really.”

“There are no other names that we know?” Calum asked.

“Nope. It’s mostly just me and Leo.” Michael answered back.

“Huh.” Calum shrugged and grabbed his phone, answering another message.

“What are you two even talking about?” Michael asked when Calum broke into a huge smile.

“We’re planning another date.” Calum easily said before typing again. “He’s bringing me to a CAT meeting.”

“Cat? Like he’s taking you to a meeting to watch cats play with yarn?”

Calum rolled his eyes and sighed. “No Mike. CAT is an acronym for Creative Arts and Technology.”

“Oh, so mechanical cats then?” Michael joked.

“Michael,” Calum groaned, “you know what I mean.”

“Yeah I do.” Michael laughed and smiled at his best friend. “So what exactly are you going to do while you’re there?”

“I’ll probably just hang around Ash. Besides, I’ll get to see him create a masterpiece, even though he already is one.” Calum said with a far-off look in his eyes.

“You should ask him to be your boyfriend.”

“What?!” Calum broke from his trance and stared at Michael.

“You heard me.”

“Nope, nope, nope. No way.” Calum shook his head aggressively.

“Cal, c’mon. You talk about his all the time anyway. This would just make it slightly less creepy.”

“First of all, it’s not creepy. Second, I don’t even know if he likes me like that.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I highly doubt someone would invite you to a meeting, for a club that you’re not in, just as a friend. He clearly likes you dude.”

“I don’t know.” Calum started to mess with his hands resting in his lap. “I mean, I’ll ask him. But only if the opportunity presents itself.” Calum looked at Michael through his eyelashes.

“Sounds like a solid plan. That boy’ll be yours before you know it.” Michael said and immediately started laughing when Calum turned bright red.

~~~

“’I’ll meet you by the tree. I’ll be there soon.’ Uh huh. Yep Ash. I can _totally_ see you by the tree.” Calum was starting to get a little upset. Ashton said he was going to be there in 5 minutes, like 15 minutes ago.

Calum was still sat underneath the tree as he checked his phone for a message from Ashton, but the screen showed nothing. Calum sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against the base of the tree. Maybe Michael was wrong. Maybe Ashton didn’t care about him and just left him outside underneath a slowly-dying tree.

Calum sighed once more and stood up. If Ashton wasn’t here by now, then he wasn’t coming. And if he wasn’t coming, then Calum was going to go home and not waste him night on a boy.

“Cal!”

Calum quickly turned around and was greeted with the sight of Ashton running towards him, drinks in his left hand. Calum waited as Ashton got closer.

“Holy shit. Sorry that I’m so late. I was ready to leave the house, but then my mom, whom I love, but can be so irritating at times, started listing off things from me to do before I could leave, which is ridiculous because I had a meeting to get to, but whatever. And I figured that if I was going to be late, I might as well bring the boy, who was so graciously waiting for me, something to drink, but the barista took a while to make the drinks because she was new, and I’m not going to be mad at someone for trying their best, so I patiently waited, but I didn’t realize how late it was.” Ashton took a deep breath. “So I guess, long story short, I’m really sorry for being late and I brought you a caramel frappe.” Ashton smiled and handed the drink to Calum, who graciously accepted the cool drink.

“It’s honestly not a problem, Ash. I was okay with waiting for you.” Calum could feel his cheeks heat up and silently wondered if this was the opportunity he was waiting for.

“So Calum—”

“Hey Ash—”

They both looked at each other for a second before giggling to themselves.

“Sorry. Go ahead.” Ashton said, blushing as heavily as Calum.

“Oh. I, uh, was just wondering if you, uh. You know what? Never mind. It’s stupid anyway. You’d probably say no. Besides, shouldn’t we be getting to that meeting? I mean we _are_ pretty late.” Calum turned around and started to head for the arts building.

Ashton grabbed Calum’s arm, forcing him to turn back and face Ashton. “Calum,” the word send shivers down Calum’s spine. “What you were going to ask me? I’m not going to judge you for it, okay?”

Calum sighed, fully turning to face Ashton. “Okay.” He looked into Ashton’s eyes and felt calm wash over him. Ashton smiled encouragingly, waiting patiently for Calum to continue.

“Ashton.” Calum took a deep breath to steady himself. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

The question hung in the air as Ashton kept staring at Calum with an unreadable expression.

“I mean, you don’t have to say yes. It’s kinda stupid anyway. We’ve only ‘technically’ been seeing each other for a couple weeks and I’m probably rushing this whole thing, so if you don’t want to be my—”

Ashton grabbed Calum’s face between his soft hands and sweetly kissed Calum’s lips. Calum was surprised for a second before he relaxed into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Ashton’s waist and pulled him closer. Ashton moved his hands to the back of Calum’s neck as he broke the kiss to catch his breath. Calum rested his forehead against Ashton’s as they stood under the dim light of the street lamp.

“Wow.” Ashton whispered, just loud enough for Calum to hear.

“Yeah.” Calum smiled and lightly laughed, causing Ashton to join him. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to skip the meeting.” Ashton said, not moving away from Calum.

“As tempting as that sounds, we should probably go, even if just for the last couple minutes.” Calum said, without moving from their current position.

“I guess.” Ashton sighed, moving away from Calum, but not before grabbing his hand to hold and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

They walked hand-in-hand into the building, both of them feeling as if they were on Cloud 9.

~~~

"I've been working on this one for a while," Ashton said, showing Calum a large canvas with a half-finished magnolia slower painted on it. 

"It's absolutely beautiful Ash." Calum said, meaning every bit of it. 

"Ashton!" A new voice cut through their conversation. 

A dirty blonde boy appeared next to Ashton, looking frantic. 

"Luke. Is everything okay?" Ashton asked, sharing the boy's, Luke's, panic. 

"Well not really. You remember that story I'm writing?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I can't find it. I know I accidentally left it in the library plugged into a computer. But when I went back to get it, it was gone!" 

"Luke. Breathe." Ashton said, trying to calm the frantic boy. "Did you check with the librarian in case someone turned it in?" 

"I did and no one turned in a black flash drive." Luke said, starting to get flustered again. 

Calum's brain started to turn and he came to a realization. _Holy shit. Is that the same USB that Michael has?_

Ashton's voice cut through Calum's thoughts. "You checked all the computers?" 

"Yes Ash. I searched the whole damn library and it's not there!" Luke was running his hands nervously through his hair. 

"Well shit." Ashton seemed at a loss for words and was struggling to think of another plan of action. 

"Oh. My. God." Luke's face immediately became pale. "Ash. What if _he_ has it?" 

"Luke, come on. You know he wouldn't even set foot in that library." Ashton said with such certainty that Luke seemed to physically calm down. 

"Yeah. I hope you're right Ash." Luke sighed before walking away, mumbling underneath his breath. 

"Damn. Poor kid." Ashton shook his head, watching Luke walk out of the building. 

"Yeah." Calum felt like he should say something, but at the same time, it was Michael's job to come clean. 

"So anyway, I'm probably going to paint some pinks into this flower." Ashton said, pointing back at his magnolia. 

Calum nodded along absently, still thinking about Luke's USB. He was pretty sure that it was the same one that Michael has found in the library. But there was only one way to find out. 

Calum was going to have to confront Michael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I _promise_ to try and update sooner than 4 months. But now I'm getting ready for college, so there's that.
> 
> I also have tripped, stumbled, and crash-landed into another fandom (Voltron), so I'll probably write some things for that fandom as well. But who knows??
> 
> Again, thanks for reading. It means the world to me. Find me on my tumblr: [x](https://pidgedy.tumblr.com)
> 
> EDIT: I added an entire section to the end of this chapter that wasn't there when I first updated it. PLEASE GO BACK AND READ IT! There are some important plot points found in that section that essential in understanding the story. Thank you for being patient with me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I added an extra part to the previous chapter, so make sure you go and read that so you're all caught up before you read this chapter!

“And Professor Kings kept talking about childhood development or something. God I could hardly focus.” Michael droned from his spot at the table in the cafeteria.

“Isn’t that a Human Growth and Development class?” Calum asked before taking another bite of mashed potatoes.

“Well, yeah. But still.” Michael went silent and stabled his Salisbury steak with his fork, bringing it to his mouth before taking a bite.

“Hey Mike.” Calum figured it was now or never with bringing up the topic that had been on his mind for the past couple days.

“Yeah man?” Michael asked, setting his steak back on the plate with the fork sticking straight up.

Calum took a deep breath to steady himself. “You know that flash drive that you found a couple weeks ago?” Michael nodded. “Well, I think I know whose it is.”

Michael stared at Calum in disbelief. It had been almost a month since the day in the library when they found the black USB drive.

“Well shit Cal. Whose is it?” Michael leaned forward, narrowly missing the mashed potatoes with his elbow.

“His name is Luke. He knows Ashton and he asked about the flash drive. He seemed really worried about it.”

“Oh shit Cal. Is Luke really tall with like shoulder-length blonde hair?” Michael seemed to have a concerned look on his face.

“Uh, yeah. That’d be the guy.” Calum said, hoping that Michael wouldn’t freak out too much.

“Well, shit. He’s in my psychology class. I literally just saw him. Fuck. I can’t believe it’s his.” Michael mumbled, more to himself than to Calum. He was staring intently at his mashed potatoes.

“Well, Ashton told me that there’s a CAT meeting tonight, so you could give it to him then.” Calum suggested.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Michael looked up from his tray and looked Calum in the eye. “I’m going to give it back to him tonight. It’s his and I should’ve never taken it.”

“I’m not the one that you should be telling that to.” Calum said, smiling slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Michael smiled back.

It was going to be a long wait until that night’s meeting. Then hopefully everything will be back to normal. Well, back to whatever is even considered normal anymore.

~~~  
Calum had said that the meeting started at 7:00 that night and Michael was beyond nervous. How do you tell someone that you purposefully stole their flash drive from the library just cause you thought it was a great idea in the moment? How do you tell someone that you see from day-to-day that you’re a thief? How do you get someone to trust you again after you violated their trust like that?

All these questions were swirling in Michael’s head as he walked down the dimly lit street to the arts building. The black flash drive felt like it was burning Michael’s hand, even though it hadn’t been in a computer for days.

Light poured out from the building as he approached and soft music could be heard through the windows. Michael took a deep breath and entered the building.

Art easels and canvases were set up throughout the room and there were a couple people who had shown up early to set up their area and possibly get a little extra time with their projects.

Michael scanned the room and found someone hunched over a work table with an assortment of paints and canvases laid out. He had his hair pulled back into a pony tail and he was wearing a cut off that had streaks of paint on the back of it.

Michael gathered his courage and approached the man. “Ahem.”

The person looked up and Michael recognized him as Ashton, the one who Calum has been talking to for a while.

“Oh, Michael! Hey man, what’s up?” Ashton asked casually, an easy smile spread across his face.

“I was just wondering if Luke was here yet.” Michael looked around nervously for the other blonde boy he knew.

“Oh, he’ll be here in a few. Said he was stopping by the convenience store before coming to the meeting.” Ashton looked back at the work table and grabbed a stretched canvas and a couple different shades of blue paint before heading over to his station.

Michael stood by the work table and watched as more people walked into the building, but there was still no sign of Luke yet. He had hoped that he would have been here already so that he could go home and hope to forget that the whole mix-up had never happened.

At about 5 minutes until 7:00, Luke walked through the door with a wide grin on his face and a hot cup of coffee in his hand. He was chatting with another art student as they walked over to the work table.

Michael stood a little taller as they approached and greeted both of them. “Hey guys. Um, Luke can I talk with you really quick?”

He received a weird look from the art student and Luke shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

Michael directed Luke over to one of the sides of the building, out of view from most of the people, though he was pretty sure that Ashton was watching them out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey, so one of my friends told me that you had lost your flash drive.” Michael started tentatively. He really didn’t want Luke to think he was a creeper or anything cause that wouldn’t form a great view of him in Luke’s head.

“Yeah I did. It was weird cause I was working on… something… in the library and when I returned to my computer, the drive was gone. I was pretty pissed. I mean can you believe that someone would just steal it like that? Like who has the nerve to take someone else’s belongings? It just blows my mind that there are people who are that insensitive.” Luke rolled his eyes and Michael’s chest felt heavy as Luke’s words weighed on him.

“I did it.” Michael said, barely above his breath.

“What?” Luke stared at Michael with disbelief.

“I took your flash drive. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you or anything. I really didn’t. I just wiggled the mouse on the computer and I saw your story and I accidentally started reading it and it was really good. I guess I just thought it was a really good idea to take it, though looking back on it, it was a really shitty thing to do.” Michael said nervously and held the flash drive flat on his palm in front of him.

Luke stared at him with his jaw tight, the smile from earlier nowhere to be seen. He took a deep breath and took the flash drive from Michael and headed out of the building.

Michael looked around to see if anyone had seen what had just happened and he caught Ashton’s gaze on him with a questioning look. Michael bit his lip and shook his head, silently indicating that their exchange wasn’t good.

Michael knew that Ashton was concerned, but he didn’t want to have to explain everything again. He already felt like a shit person and he didn’t want Ashton to think any worse of him than he probably already does.

Michael walked towards the exit of the building, feeling like shit and wanting nothing more than to go home and sleep for another hundred years, just so he wouldn’t have to see Luke again. As soon as he stepped foot outside, he heard an echo of hiccups coming from around the corner. He peered over and saw a single, tall silhouette sitting underneath the street light with his head in his hands,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my first year of college and boy was it a wild one! Sorry for not updating, but my life got really hectic. There is going to be one final chapter for this story and I hope to have it out before I start college again in August.


	5. Chapter 5

Michael knew instantly that it was Luke who was huddled together. Michael immediately felt worse than he already had. He knew he was the cause of Luke's unhappiness and he was debating over whether or not he should try to comfort Luke. 

On one hand, Luke could shun him and push him away forever. But on the other hand, maybe Luke needed a shoulder to cry on. Maybe Luke was just struggling with too many things and the USB was just the last straw to make the whole thing come crumbling down. 

Michael took a breath and walked over to Luke, taking a chance on the idea that Luke wasn't truly angry at him. As Michael approached Luke, he could tell that Luke was crying pretty hard. His shoulders were shaking and the hiccups were loud enough to hear from a distance. 

"Hey Luke." Michael said, cautiously standing to Luke's right side. He waited for a response, but Luke didn't seem to notice him. 

Michael sighed and sat down next to Luke underneath the street light. Luke's breath paused for a moment and his hiccupping calmed down. If Michael was going to talk, now would be the time. 

"Hey Luke. I'm sorry. I really am and you have every right to hate me. If you want me to leave, I will. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be alright." Michael said. 

"Why?" 

"What?" 

"Why did you do it?" Luke looked up from his lap into Michael's eyes. 

"I just saw the story so I took the drive. I don't really have any excu--." 

"Stop. That's not what I meant. Why did you read the story?" Luke's eyes were piercing now and Michael couldn't escape from his gaze. 

"Well, I saw my name in it." Michael said honestly. He had done enough to Luke tonight. He didn't need to lie to him too. 

"I get that. But why did you keep reading it?" 

"Oh." Michael paused. He actually had no idea why he had truly read the story. Sure, he had seen his name in it, but that didn't mean that it was a good story. Michael had read the entire story in just over a month and that wasn't just because his name was in it. He was actually intrigued and wanted to know more about the story and the plot and the way the characters interacted. Honestly, Michael had never come across anything that he wanted to read as much as that story. 

Luke coughed, bringing Michael back from his thoughts. 

"Well, I read it because it's actually really good. Luke, you're a really great author. Your characters are really intriguing and they just felt so real to me." Michael smiled at Luke, but the smile was not returned. 

"That's because they are." Luke sighed. "All of the characters are real. That's why your name was in the story. Ashton told me it wasn't a good idea, that I should use aliases or different names altogether, but I didn't listen to him and now I'm in this mess." 

"I wouldn't really call it a mess. I mean, you did get to talk to me." Michael smiled, hoping to bring a smile to Luke's face. 

"Yeah, I guess." Luke half-smiled. 

"There's nothing to be shy about Luke. I loved the story. Real or not, you have a lot of potential." Michael said, honestly. 

"Thanks Michael. You really don't have to lie to me though." The smile on Luke's face fell once more. 

"I'm not lying to you. You do have a lot of talent. But I do have one question." Michael said, causing Luke to raise an eyebrow at him. 

"Yeah?" 

"Why Leo?" Michael asked. The question had been bugging him for a while, especially after he had found out that the author was Luke. 

"Oh. Uh, I don't know. It was another L name I guess." Luke shrugged. 

"I see." Michael nodded. 

"Sorry to disappoint." Luke asked. 

"You're not disappointing me. On the contrary, I'm glad that it was you." 

"What do you mean?" Luke's eyebrow raised once more. 

"I'm glad that you're the author and that you had left your USB drive. And I'm glad that I got to meet you. You're really sweet Luke. I just want you to know that." Michael smiled and Luke returned it. 

"Can I, uh," Luke cleared his throat. "Can I kiss you?" 

Michael was taken aback by the request but felt himself nodding. Luke's lips were soft as if he was constantly wearing chapstick. The kiss was light and sweet, just like Luke. Michael felt his heart begin to race as Luke pulled away. 

As it turns out, all of this was worth it. The nervousness, the meeting, the late nights of reading, the stolen USB, and that essay due that week. All of it led to this moment here with Luke. Everything came full circle and Michael could not be more excited and happy. This was going down in history as the dumbest, yet most rewarding, mistake he had ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone who read this and I'm excited that I was finally able to get it all out to you so that you could read and enjoy this story as much as I have. This is the end of what I currently have planned for this fic. However, I would be willing to write an epilogue if it is requested.
> 
> I would also like to thank [Wastethemuke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wastethemuke/pseuds/Wastethemuke) for commenting and encouraging me to write the story. I'm so glad that you've enjoy it so much.
> 
> Also a shoutout to [lashtonlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lashtonlove/pseuds/lashtonlove) for commenting as well. Thank you for your support.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: [ pidgedy ](http://www.pidgedy.tumblr.com)


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